


tbh ily

by alphaofallcats



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fans & Fandom, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tumblr, Angst, Disability, Eren has a stutter, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Jean has asthma because no one is here to stop me, Levi has a very big crush, M/M, Miscommunication, Platonic Cuddling, Sasha is the HBIC, more on that later, not really this is just self indulgent, really bad vine references, slow build because i never fucking update, so many AUs i'm so sorry, stutter, this fandom can fight me, this is my attempt to kill the bad ex boyfriend Jean trope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-31 12:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12132696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphaofallcats/pseuds/alphaofallcats
Summary: The one where Eren and Levi fall in love in a coffee shop, but Eren's too much of an idiot to admit they already sort of fell in love on tumblr.





	1. The Attractive Barista Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren meets Levi and wants to shove his hand in a blender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This is my interpretation of what these characters would be like given the circumstances, so refrain from kink/ship shaming.  
> 2\. Levi/Eren are endgame but this fic will rely heavily on past and sorta-present Jean/Eren. I have many reasons, mainly being I love Jean/Eren and hate the bad-ex!Jean trope.  
> 3\. Tags will be updated as this goes because this is fandom heavy. I'll mark the beginning of the chapters when they've been updated in case there are triggers you guys look out for.

At a quarter past three on a Thursday afternoon, Eren realized he was truly and completely fucked and for once it wasn't Jean's fault. Well, it maybe was. Jean was the one who got him to become a fanboy in the first place, so yeah, it was his fault. Fuck Jean for making him lose sleep over all the trash that now consumed his entire life. A sad and pathetic life it was turning out to be, but that was all because a certain writer owned his ass. Hence, the being fucked.

TheCatCaptain, fandom famous Tumblr user and Archive Of Our Own author, posted a photo, roughly 3 minutes ago, on his blog of the latte art adorning the cappuccino Eren made, roughly 10 minutes ago. The caption read, "look at this shit." Which was fine. Which was _totally_ fine, except for the tags. Oh god, the fucking tags. 

> #this is the cutest shit ever #LOOK AT IT #the barista made it for ME #i gave him shit for fucking up my order and having him remake it #SO HE DID THIS #HE MADE THIS FOR ME #a fucking cat #how did he know this would win my heart #that’s so fucking gay i’m sorry even for me #but #god he is really fucking attractive #fuck me #where tf is my coffee shop au #barista boy 

If Eren could melt into the floor he would have done just that. Instead, he sent Jean a text.

[sent 03:20pm] !!!! PLEASE LOOK AT CAT'S BLOG

[recieved 03:21pm - JeanBoi] i'm in class  
[recieved 03:23pm - JeanBoi] mobile isn’t loading  
[recieved 03:23pm - JeanBoi] did he post an early fic update???

[sent 03:24pm] HE POSTED A PHOTO  
[sent 03:24pm] OF THE LATTE ART I MADE ON HIS CAPPUCCINO 

Jean left him on read for a few minutes too long and Eren debated texting Armin because what the fuck was he supposed to do? He just learned that the grumpy junior who came into the shop everyday wearing oversized sweaters even when it was eighty fucking degrees outside, ordered drinks that were way too sweet, glared at his laptop like he was about ready to peel off the keyboard keys, and seemed so annoyed at life that even a zombie apocalypse wouldn’t make him flinch, was TheCatCaptain. The same CatCaptain who OTP'd Kyoya and Tamaki, participated in every event week for Black Butler, enthusiastically claimed poly ships could end all ship wars, wrote Yukio/Rin smut to piss people off, and reblogged Eren’s fanart with praise and adoration.

Was this really what his life had come to? He was a screeching mess online (that was _obvious_ ), he was a giant otaku (he _admitted_ that), he spent a majority of his time on tumblr (what _else_ was he supposed to do?), and when he wasn't online he was usually making art ( _for_ tumblr.) But this seemed ridiculous. This was where he took a step back and laughed because his life was such a fucking joke. He needed to draw the line somewhere and this was that defining moment. This was the universe mocking him, punishing him for whoever knew what. This was some celestial being dangling the hot fucking mess that was TheCatCaptian in front of him, saying, ‘ _lol look at him, he’s too hot for you_.’ 

The blender was starting to look like an amazing place to ruin his art career, and he was seriously contemplating sticking his hand in when the door chimed and Jean strode up to the counter, face flushed like he just sprinted across campus. He probably did.

"Where's your i-inhaler?"

"Up… your fucking… ass." 

"You forgot i-it, didn't you?" Eren asked. He grabbed a to-go cup and filled it with tap water to distract himself. If he could ignore the fact that CatCaptain was in the same fucking room as him, maybe he could go on living in peace with his hand intact. As it stood, he was going to face one problem at a time and currently, he needed to make sure Jean didn't die of an asthma attack. 

Worldlessly, Jean accepted the water and quirked his eyebrows in silent question as he regained his breath. It didn't go unnoticed that he avoided Eren’s question; Jean was going to die one day because he forgot his inhaler and Eren was just going to laugh because Jean’s life was a fucking joke too. Eren scowled at him but leaned across the counter, his voice in a whisper, ready to admit his demise. “At the c-corner table.”

Jean at least had the decency to be subtle when he turned around and leaned his back against the counter, eyes casually darting across the shop as if he was looking out the windows to survey the weather. He took a sip before he finally peered over in Cat’s direction. Jean’s eyes wided for a fraction of a second before they narrowed critically. He glanced back at Eren and asked, "My dorm after your shift?”

"I’m going to the... studio," he answered, grabbing another cup to make Jean a coffee. It was the least Eren could do seeing as he cut class to come rescue him, even though deep down he knew Jean came for his own curiosity.

“Just grab your shit and bring it to my room.”

Eren laughed, shaking his head as he stirred in some creamer. “It’s c-charcoal.”

“Oh.” Jean blinked, and Eren could slowly see the dots connecting before he frowned. “Oh, yeah. Fuck that. Come over after then.”

The semester was already getting crazily busy. Eren had too many art projects to count and his filler classes had begun discussing topics for upcoming papers. He was dreading the upcoming weeks; it was only going to get worse, and even though he would never admit it openly, Eren already missed those high school nights where he and Jean would scroll through tumblr in companionable silence, occasionally nudging one another to get a reaction from a meme or discuss some lighthearted discourse. 

He gave Jean his best puppy-dog eyes. “Can we order piz-za?"

Jean rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, you can finally meet Connie, too." Then, he leaned across the counter and tugged on a strand of Eren’s hair before grabbing the cup of coffee. He took an approving taste and then turned, calling over his shoulder, “Don’t inhale too much charcoal dust.”

Once Jean was out the door Eren became overly self-conscious again. Cat hadn't left his seat and didn't look like he would anytime soon. He was typing angrily on his laptop, glaring at the computer screen like one of those antis who went after shippers. 

_What's making him look like such a sourpuss?_

Eren hoped he wasn't writing fanfic; he wasn't sure what he would do if he knew Cat looked like he just stepped in dog shit while writing those fabulous smut scenes. But the possibility was there. The last chapter did leave off with a suggestive cliffhanger, and maybe Cat had a thing for writing smut out and open in public like this. Maybe he was into that, maybe he was an exhibitionist, maybe he got a thrill from knowing that anyone could peer over his shoulder and see the phrases _dripping with precum_ and _licking the tip_ on his word processor. If he was into that, what was to say he wasn't into fucking in communal bathrooms? Or giving blowjobs behind desks? Or chaining someone in a dark basement dungeon and—

Eren stopped there. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about what kinks CatCaptain had in real life.

Thankfully, the shop picked up again as an after class rush flowed through. It didn't settle for another 20 minutes. After the line died down, Eren busied himself by cleaning up the messes he left in his haste to finish orders, humming absentmindedly. He got so caught up in scrubbing a sticky spot on the counter that he _stupidly_ forgot Cat was still within a ten-foot radius of him. He didn't even notice that Cat walked up to the register until a sharpie was thrust in his face.

He startled and looked up, a flush rising from his neck to his cheeks when he met Cat’s eyes. 

_Breathe. Don’t stutter. It's just words._ "C-can I-I help you?" _Well fuck._

Now was not the time to be getting worked up and messing up his words, _again_ , he needed to stay calm. Eren already made a fool of himself when Cat came up to the counter earlier and he fumbled his way through asking what he wanted to drink and then fumbled some more asking the specifics. Milk? Sugar? Whipped cream? _Extra_ whipped cream? The words weren't difficult but when he was faced with the hot guy who happened to be his tumblr crush, the letters couldn't form on his tongue. It was even more difficult when the reason he needed to keep calm was the reason he wasn't calm.

An emergency room visit with a shredded up hand was looking a thousand times better than ever speaking again.

However, Cat seemed unfazed and just wiggled the marker. "You draw. Doodle something on a cup."

Eren’s stomach curled and his heart thudded so loudly in his ears that he was sure Cat could hear it. “How...did you know? That I-I…”

Cat quirked his brow and Eren knew he was done for. He had been recognized. He was going to have to own up, admit that this was him in real life, some dork that was on an art scholarship who can barely take coffee orders without backtracking on years worth of speech therapy. He was going to have to transfer schools and ghost himself on tumblr. His social life (that was already near nonexistent) would surely crumble and his art would suffer. He was expecting laughter, for the universe to finally mock him in the form of the guy in front of him.

What Eren wasn't expecting was Cat to look him straight in the eyes. “Your friend yelling at you kind of gave it away. Have you really inhaled charcoal dust? That’s gross.”

“Um-”

“No, you don’t have to answer that.” His eyes peeked down and he started picking fuzz off his sweater. He looked almost shy when he gazed up through his eyelashes. “Can I just get an iced caramel latte? With extra whipped cream again? To-go, this time.”

Eren was too embarrassed before to look Cat over, but fuck, now he couldn't help himself. Cat had dark, silky hair, sharp cheekbones, a soft nose, and thin lips. His collarbones jutted from where his pale skin was exposed from under the neck of his sweater. His eyes were narrow, gray like smoke and the rainy days that Eren really loved. And the way his eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly made Eren’s heart stammer in his chest. 

_Why'd he have to be so hot?_

“What?”

 _Oh, you_ idiot. _Great fucking job._

“Uh, I-I meant—” He started making a list of all the paperwork he would have to fill out to transfer. The universe was still dangling that string. “Aren’t you hot i-in that sweater?”

Now he was pretty sure Cat was laughing at him. 

“Aren’t you hot in that apron?”

Or mocking him.

Or flirting with him.

Butterflies floated up his throat and clattered behind his teeth. The words were painful to get out.

“What's the... name for the o-order?" he asked, reaching for the marker that was still in Cat’s hand. There was one sitting beind the register but he felt too awkward to say so. And if Eren could avoid looking at him then maybe he could make it through this disaster. Cat was too attractively distracting. Eren hadn't ever given much thought to what the guy behind the famous tumblr blog looked like, but this was beyond his hopes and expectations.

"Levi,” he answered, opening his palm so Eren could grab the marker. “Freshman?"

"Uh, n-no, my n-name is Eren.” He managed to grab the sharpie without touching _Levi_ , a small accomplishment if he ever admitted it. He started writing Levi’s name out in chunky blocks because fuck it, he was going all out now. The only thing that could possibly impress Levi after all his stuttering was his art. And, for once in his life, he was thankful his style varied across different mediums — that and it was fucking difficult to draw on a cup.

There was silence for a beat too long and Eren glanced up again to see amused eyes looking at him. He was sure Levi could see straight through him, into his soul or something equally cliche and disturbing. By the time Eren’s brain caught up with him, another blush was already coloring his cheeks.

He clenched his fingers around the marker and did his best not to combust into flames. Or melt into the floor. Or reach for the blender. "Oh, yeah. I-I'm a...freshman."

Levi's lips twitched into a smile. "Well, Eren the freshman. Let's see if your doodles rival your latte art."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my friend made [fanart](https://ghostlylovejellyfish.tumblr.com/post/175816879103/fan-art-for-this-fanfiction-by-alphaofallcats) of Eren taking Levi's order! It's so adorable and I'm fucking blushing.


	2. The Three Inbox Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes two new friends and sends sleepy messages to TheCatCaptain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're coming back from chapter one, I edited a lot and added some details if you want to go read it again. Nothing substantial, so you won't miss anything if you don't. I only ran this chapter through grammarly so edits will probably come later because it's really late.
> 
> I did want to point out that I went back to my notes and decided to change the way I've written Eren's stutter. I don't want it to be an eyesore for you guys, but I also don't want it to disappear (as it sometimes does as fics go on.) So from the research I've done and the people I've talked to, I picked out the letters that Eren has trouble with, in case you see any patterns.
> 
> Excuse the tangent filled parentheticals. I'm too lazy to try out that html tutorial someone posted for footnotes. (I love footnotes.)
> 
> One last thing: the times on the messages aren't too important, so don't worry. The significant lapses have indicators before the messages anyway... you'll see.

When Eren realized that words were never going to come easily to him, he turned to art. For a while, it was finger-painting, which mostly included testing his mom’s patience as goops of color splattered onto the kitchen table. But she was never discouraging and soon enough nudged him to pick up crayons, pencils, and markers. The drawings were all shitty, as expected of a kid, but when middle school hit him hard ( _literally_ – when Mikasa wasn’t looking, the bullies enjoyed slamming him into the lockers just to see him bubble with rage and stumble incoherent sentences), he began taking it seriously. Letters couldn’t sit on his tongue and words couldn’t spill from his lips, but he could press lines onto a page and tell stories without ever opening his mouth.

So his decision to pursue art was obvious.

The studio was quiet. Most of the Arts building was empty, save for the few musical auditions going on in the theater wing. Eren was lucky enough to be on his own for the most part, until a girl came bouncing in. The entire room was free for the taking, but she chose the easel right next to his to set up her sketch pad. She was plain looking, but in a beautiful way that Eren appreciated. She looked like she belonged in the studio, messy hair and chipped nail polish and scuffed up sneakers.

_Oh my god..._

“See something you like?” she asked, sending him a wink.

Eren nodded, failing to hide his amusement. “Yeah, your shirt.”

She looked down to read it over, _my boyfriend asked me to make him a sandwich so I made him a sub_ , and smiled back proudly. “Clever, isn’t it?” She held out her hand. “I’m Sasha.”

Eren stopped halfway in reaching out, thinking better of the sorry state of smudges caked on his palms. He made a poor attempt at wiping the dust on his pants before she shook her head with a laugh and leaned forward. “I'm an art kid, it’s okay, only a little charcoal.” His hand was sweaty and grimy but she didn’t seem to mind. “Are you just here to fill a gen-ed?”

Something about her made the stutter easier to swallow. It was still there, but not out of nerves. “N-no, I’m an art major.”

Her face pinched with interest as she glanced him over. He would have felt scrutinized if not for the fact that she seemed generally interested. “What classes are you taking? Are you a freshman?”

He couldn’t hide his blush.

_(“Well, Eren the freshman.”)_

“Yeah. I-I’m taking Painting 2… Drawing 2… Victorian Gothic Literature… Sign Language….” he said, counting on his fingers.

“You’re in Painting 2?” she asked, eyes widening. “And Drawing 2?”

“Yeah, why?”

“As a freshman?” She flipped to a clean page in her sketchbook, the corners of her mouth drawing up into a soft grin that Eren shot back with little hesitation. “Your portfolio must be something else.”

\----

The dorm room was small, as expected. Jean and his roommate had pushed their beds on opposite walls, their desks respectively positioned at the foot of each. They had stacked the small dressers together to save space. Jean’s were the bottom two, he learned, after he went to steal an old crewneck (the one that had holes along the bottom hem from when Jean thought he could be a cool kid in high school by smoking. The crew neck faired better than his lungs, with only a few holes from where the ashes burned through the fabric as he coughed himself into an asthma attack.) Jean had two posters on his side of the room, the album artwork for Fall Out Boy’s Folie à Deux and the one he purchased at a con of the My Hero Academia boys. (“Todoroki is _hot_ , okay?” Eren couldn’t argue.) Jean’s roommate, Connie, didn’t have anything notable on his side of the room, besides his Star Wars bed sheets.

With a pizza box (surprisingly) balanced across their laps, serving as a makeshift plate, Eren and Jean were pressed against each other, both of them tangled under a fuzzy blanket. The closeness was a familiar comfort that came after spending the better part of high school binge watching anime in Jean’s room.

Two slices of pizza were apparently not enough for Jean, as he reached for a third, taking a bite and ripping the cheese that stretched too far when he pulled it away from his mouth.

“Well, you have a name,” he said around a mouthful. “Think we can find his facebook?”

“Please, n-no.”

Of course, Jean didn’t listen. He dropped the pizza back in the box, wiping his greasy fingers on Eren’s shirt, and grabbed Eren’s phone. He found Levi in an impressive amount of time. There was nothing too notable on the older’s page. He was tagged in a handful of photos by someone named Hanji and a few others that went back to when he was in high school, all of which were taken by a girl named Isabel. There was one photo of him kissing a blonde guy, his middle finger held up to the camera.

“Boyfriend, you think?” Jean asked.

Eren shrugged. “He n-never mentioned any exes on tumblr, but who knows. At least we know he’s gay.”

“Wow, dumbass, we already knew this. Or did you not see all the pride posts he reblogs? Or even the comments he adds to your art, where he practically states he wants to fuck you into space—”

The malice behind the elbow he shoved into Jean’s side was overshadowed by the heat in his cheeks. 

“You should friend him.” 

“N-NO! Don’t you dare!” Eren jerked forward to grab his phone, almost knocking the pizza box on the floor in the process. He barely managed to save it before Jean was grinning at him innocently.

“Oops.”

Eren looked at him hopelessly. “Why did you do that?”

“Relax. Your profile pic is cute, I’m sure he’ll accept. Well, I think it’s cute anyway. But, whatever, more importantly,” he smirked, giving Eren a cheeky grin before taking another bite of pizza. He swallowed this time before speaking, but Eren’s shirt was still substituted for a napkin. “Remember that kid from orientation? He’s in my history class.”

There were many kids at orientation but Eren knew exactly the one that Jean was talking about. He was taller than the both of them, his body toned and muscular, but not overly so (if the way his shirt and jeans hugged him were anything to go by.) Eren couldn’t remember much else, except that his face was peppered with freckles and small dimples pressed at the corners of his mouth when he smiled. “Did you get his n-number?”

“No. I don’t know how.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “You friended Levi on Facebook, seriously?”

“Helping you is different,” he said, stealing Eren’s can of soda. “It’s always been different.”

Eren eyed him while he slugged down a sip. “I hate you.”

He tugged on a strand of Eren’s hair. “No, you don’t. But, what do you suggest then, _oh wise one_?”

“Just say it’s to trade n-notes. Two weeks i-into the semester and he transferred into your c-class? He’s probably behind.”

“Oh,” Jean said, eyebrows scrunching as he stared at the wall. “Good idea.”

Eren grabbed the soda can back from Jean, shaking it a bit. He tried to give Jean a disappointed look, but ended up smiling. “This bitch empty.”

Jean whipped his head around to smirk at him. 

Without missing a beat, Eren tossed the can to the garbage as Jean yelled, “YEEEET!” 

The door opened just as the can dropped inside and Jean’s roommate chose that exact moment to walk in. He, also without missing a beat, gave them finger guns and said, “Aye, good shot.”

Jean straightened up and pointed between the two of them. “Eren, this is Connie, my roommate. Connie, this is Eren, my loser.”

Connie dumped his backpack on his desk and waved. “Nice to finally meet the-guy-who-Jean-doesn’t-shut-up-about.”

Eren pinched Jean’s thigh under the blanket and smirked. “I-I would hope so, I’m the most important person-n in his life.”

Connie laughed (but Eren knew it wasn’t at him) and Jean didn’t disagree. He offered Connie a slice of pizza, who took it with an enthusiastic nod before flopping onto his bed. He asked Jean about the floor meeting he missed, and Eren’s phone buzzed with a tumblr notification. He swiped it open, sinking further against Jean as the other two started complaining about how awful their RA was.

[received 10:32pm – TheCatCaptain] so the week is almost over  
[received 10:32pm – TheCatCaptain] i just finished editing the chapter for tomorrow  
[received 10:32pm – TheCatCaptain] how’s the semester going?

[sent 10:32pm] better than expected  
[sent 10:33pm] i made some friends~

_Connie counts, right?_

He pulled the blanket tighter against him. Jean shifted so he could press his cold toes under Eren’s calves. He barely flinched, too used to Jean leeching off his body heat by now to find it bothersome.

[received 10:38pm – TheCatCaptain] <3 i knew you would  
[received 10:39pm – TheCatCaptain] but...  
[received 10:39pm – TheCatCaptain] do I have to worry about someone stealing you???

[sent 10:40pm] nope :) but it looks like i’ve got some competition with this barista boy

_What are you doing?_

This wasn’t right. He should tell Cat— _Levi_ , that he knew, that they ran into each other, that they met in real life. Eren bit his lip. 

_You should tell him._

[received 10:45pm – TheCatCaptain] babe  
[received 10:45pm – TheCatCaptain] he’s soooo hot but i feel like i fucked up already（◞‸◟）

 _Oh my god._

Eren buried his face against Jean’s shoulder, cheeks burning. 

_Hot. Hot. H.O.T. He thinks you’re hot._

He only pulled away to reply. 

[sent 10:48pm] why????!??

[received 10:51pm – TheCatCaptain] i think i was just douchey?? when i first talked to him??  
[received 10:51pm – TheCatCaptain] i didn’t realize he had an actual stutter?? so i kinda rolled my eyes at him when he took my order??  
[received 10:52pm – TheCatCaptain] but then i heard him talking with his friend and realized he was stuttering a little then too  
[received 10:53pm – TheCatCaptain] i shouldn’t have been mean in the first place  
[received 10:53pm – TheCatCaptain] so I went to talk to him again  
[received 10:53pm – TheCatCaptain] idk  
[received 10:54pm – TheCatCaptain] i feel bad for being shitty, he’s really cute and nice and i hope he doesn’t think i’m an ass :/

[sent 10:58pm] you worry too much

[received 10:59pm – TheCatCaptain] he just got all nervous and it was adorable  
[received 10:59pm – TheCatCaptain] i had to stop myself from smiling (／≧ω＼)

[sent 11:01pm] god forbid ;)

[received 11:02pm – TheCatCaptain] hey  
[received 11:02pm – TheCatCaptain] i have a reputation to uphold

[sent 11:03pm] i’m sure

Pulling him from the conversation, Jean nudged his side. “It’s getting late.”

Eren blinked dazedly and grabbed Jean’s wrist to squint at his watch. 

“Oh, fuck, i-it’s eleven. You have c-class i-in the morning, right?.”

“Yep.” Jean grinned. He shoved Eren’s shoulder. “Get out of my bed, you slut.”

“Yeah, yeah, I-I’m going.”

\----

Originally, when Eren first moved into the dorm building, his RA told him his roommate decided to take a gap year last minute, so he had the room to himself. He kept the one side empty in case there needed to be roommate changes, and he was happy for the privacy. But coming back from spending the better part of two hours cuddled next to Jean made his stomach curl.

There was charcoal caked under his nails and with a sigh, he realized he had sign language tomorrow, so he grabbed his towel and shower caddy and headed to the bathroom. He washed quickly, the fear of the fire alarm going off rushing him. (That always scared him. He didn’t want to be _that_ person that stood outside on the lawn with the rest of the building, dripping wet in just a fucking towel just to learn some idiot forgot to put water in their cup of mac and cheese before microwaving it.) 

Thankfully, he survived without needing to embarrass himself.

He crawled into bed, the weight of the day finally exhausting him. He checked his phone one last time, smiling blearily at the tumblr notification.

[received 11:35pm – TheCatCaptain] hey, Call?

His eyes were heavy but he managed to type out one last reply before he fell asleep.

[sent 11:52pm] yeah?

He woke up a while later, his hand still wrapped loosely around his phone, the device vibrating with another message.

[received 3:04am – TheCatCaptain] thanks for putting up with my shit

Fingers numb from the way he was laying on his arm, he struggled through a response.

[sent 3:07am] it’s not putting up with you, you know

[received 3:07am - TheCatCaptain] tolerating

[sent 3:10am] being your friend

Eren had already dozed off again by the time he received a reply. 

[received 3:25am – TheCatCaptain] go the fuck to sleep, it’s late <3

[sent 3:27am] mmm you too <3

\----

As he was eating breakfast in the cafeteria, munching on cereal, praying the caffeine from his double shot of espresso wouldn’t fade before class started, Eren came to a decision: Things couldn’t change, not only because it would seem suspicious, but because things were amazing as they were now, the butterflies-in-his-stomach kind of amazing. 

There were times like last night, at three in the morning when Cat would tumblr IM LastCall when he couldn’t sleep. Eren didn’t have to be there to know there was some desperation behind the words, especially as it got closer and closer to morning, so he would stay up even when his eyes were stinging, to keep Cat company. There were also times when Cat reblogged LastCall's art, adding captions like _cat.exe has stopped working_ and _i’m going to KiLL mYseLf BYE you are perfect_ , in a way that was only understandable to everyone in fandom. Then, there were moments like this, when Eren checked his ask box to find messages waiting for him. 

> 1\. it's fan friday and i just want to let you know i love your art okay bye

> 2\. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOUR ART IS A GIFT, MY EYES ARE CLEANSED, MY SKIN IS CLEAR... YOUR ART IS WHAT KEEPS ME GOING EVERY WEEK, WHAT MAKES ME WAKE UP ON MONDAY

> 3\. your little corner of the internet makes me really happy, it's 4:48 in the morning, but you're on my mind and that's either really pathetic or scary, fuck you’re amazing

It’ll be better.

_(“he’s really cute and nice”)_

To keep it a secret.

_(“you’re on my mind”)_

For the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me way too long to get this chapter out, so I can't really promise regular updates? But the whole fic is outlined (kinda). I just have to figure out how to divide the chapters.
> 
> But hey! We have Sasha and Connie <3 They don't get enough love, so be expecting a one shot spin-off for them at some point. Also, more platonic cuddling between Eren and Jean because I cannot stress enough that I hate the bad-ex-boyfriend!Jean trope.


	3. The New Friday Schedule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes Levi coffee and Levi crashes LastCall’s phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the tags! and if you haven't seen, I linked some fanart to chapter one!

The coffee shop was irritatingly busy. A lot of hopeless zombie-like high school students and their overbearing parents were meandering around. The college tours always stopped at the cafe for a snack break, allowing the fake-school-pride-smile tour guide to answer all the tedious questions. 

If Levi had to hear, “Are the dorm bathrooms communal? Do you have to pay for laundry? What about printing? How late is the library open?” one more time he was personally going to stomp up to the Admissions Office and give them hell, because all these prospective students and their tight-ass parents were taking up _his_ time. His precious time with Eren that was slowly running out.

When he got there over an hour ago, Eren was already behind the counter, so Levi had set up camp in his usual spot. Well, not initially. Someone was in _his_ seat and it took them 15 agonizing minutes to leave. Once they moved, he bolted, bumping into someone right before they sat down, but he glared at them until they moved to sit somewhere else. This spot was claimed and he had no qualms fighting someone for it, but he still hadn’t ordered anything. There was no point in going up to the counter unless he could make small talk with Barista Boy. He hated small talk but Eren was adorable and well worth the suffering.

But again! The line hadn’t died down, and the shop was busy with so many idiots, it pissed him off. Levi hadn’t a clue when Eren’s shift ended and if the boy left before Levi could talk to him, he was going to throw a bitch fit; he changed his entire Friday schedule for this, he wanted to at least say _hi_.

On top of all that irritation, Levi was failing to squash the stupid little lovebug that was trying so hard to bite him. It came crawling out of the dark void he claimed his heart to be.

It had been exactly a week, and Levi still wasn’t over Call’s responses to his tumblr asks.

The first two were public, which Levi knew Call did on purpose because people fawned over their friendship, and Call found it amusing when something so simple as an ask got over 12 notes.

(Which was considerably nothing in retrospect; Levi had over five thousand followers and Call told him that he was creeping up on his first thousand.)

> 1\. it's fan friday and i just want to let you know i love your art okay bye  
>  **oh my god oh my god oh my god senpai noticed me ;)**

> 2\. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOUR ART IS A GIFT, MY EYES ARE CLEANSED, MY SKIN IS CLEAR... YOUR ART IS WHAT KEEPS ME GOING EVERY WEEK, WHAT MAKES ME WAKE UP ON MONDAY  
>  **what the fuck is wrong with me? i’ll tell you what, it’s YOU, you and your goddamn amazing fanfics**

The third reply was sitting in his inbox. And saved as a screenshot on his phone. Which he emailed to himself to save on his laptop. Which his roommate wanted to print and frame for his dorm room. 

> 3\. your little corner of the internet makes me really happy, it's 4:48 in the morning, but you're on my mind and that's either really pathetic or scary, fuck you’re amazing  
>  **well if that’s pathetic then I’m a disaster.**

The fact that Call had replied privately made Levi’s cheeks heat, and he kept rereading it because it was so intimate. It meant something, right? Something more than platonic? 

_Don’t be fucking ridiculous. You promised yourself you wouldn’t fall for Call. And now look at you? Blushing? In public? Stop, it’s disgusting._

Levi hoped, with everything he fucking had, that Barista Boy would help him kill the stupid crush he had been swatting back with a stick for four months. A heavy stick. And he kept fucking missing—

It didn’t matter that Cat and Call had known each other for over a year and a half, this dumb crush could not blossom into anything. Not a daffodil, not a rose. Not any pretty, fragrant, Happy-Valentine’s-Day flower.

Though he hoped it wouldn’t grown in a weed either. He wouldn’t be able to deal with ripping it out, ripping Call out of his life. 

To keep himself from letting out a strangled groan of frustration, Levi bit his tongue; he was too dependent on him and that’s exactly why their relationship couldn’t change. Too many of his emotions were at stake.

God, he was supposed to be editing his fucking fic, not pining over two stupid, silly boys.

 _Alright_ , he thought, tapping his keyboard so the screen lit up. _Focus. You have a fic to edit. Fictional boys over IRL boys, right? Right._

(Somewhere, in the back of his mind, a little voice chanted, _Both? Both. Both is good. Fictional boys and IRL boys are both good_.)

_Stop. Stop stop stop stop._

With a small huff, he opened the google doc and went back to nitpicking his fic. His beta had already added their comments, and he was combing through to make the last of his edits. Even though they got on his nerves, Hanji was a blessing. They found every typo, pointed out the confusing parts when all the he/him pronouns jumbled up. They even told him what they liked and didn’t like— if it was a small description or if some dialogue seemed out of character.

Levi was about to sort through the last of Hanji’s comments when Eren walked over. He flicked his eyes up, not meaning to glare but also not being able to help it, _shit_ , he couldn’t breathe.

Eren gave him the smallest and most hesitant of smiles, setting a mocha ice coffee down on the table. There was so much whipped cream that a drop was sliding down the side of the cup, perfect swirls of chocolate sauce curling on top. Fuck, there were even sprinkles of mini chocolate chips.

Levi blinked at him. He couldn’t do fucking anything else but blink at him and by the time his mind decided to _function_ like it was _supposed to_ , Eren was gone.

_You. Fucking. Asshole._

Carefully, so very carefully, to hide the fact that he was almost shaking and on the verge of throwing up, he grabbed his phone. Of course, he took a photo and posted it on tumblr.

> #BaristaBoy #back at it again #i’m sobbing i couldn’t even speak #he is so pure #help

And of course, he messaged Call. And of course, Call didn’t answer. Damn it, he told Levi he had classes on Friday but he didn’t say when. God fucking damn it. 

He tried to be as subtle as possible when he glanced at Eren. He tried, he really did. But Eren caught him off guard because he was already staring at him, fuck. His breath caught in his throat, hiccuped in a tight gasp. It was like that one time Isabel pushed him in the lake back home, surprising him with a sneaky shove. Farlan stood at the edge of the dock and laughed, so loud and obnoxious that even Levi could hear it, gargled and warped from under the murky water. If Farlan was there now, he’d be laughing at him again. 

_Fuck._

His glare softened, only just a tad, but it was enough. 

Turning back to his phone, Levi began furiously typing. 

[sent 02:28pm] when do you have class  
[sent 02:28pm] hey  
[sent 02:29pm] h e y  
[sent 02:29pm] Call i will not fucking hesitate to @ you on discord i swear to fucking god  
[sent 02:30pm] don’t make me do it  
[sent 02:30pm] discord crashes your dumb ass phone and i don’t give any shits rn  
[sent 02:31pm] THIS IS A BARISTA BOY EMERGENCY  


When he still got no answer, he minimized the google doc on his laptop and opened Discord, resisting the urge to punch his fingers on the keyboard. 

He was such an impatient fuck. 

[sent 02:38pm] @LastCall4Jaeger this is me calling you out  
[sent 02:38pm] answer meeeee  


Not able to stop himself, he peeked another glance at Eren. He was talking to a girl at the counter, and she was batting her eyelashes, looking all too pleased with herself when Eren gave her a cocky and sexy grin. 

(Could grins even be sexy?) 

The girl left, took her coffee and walked right out the door, good fucking riddance, and Eren turned back to grin at _Levi._

(Yes, he decided. They could be sexy. As fuck.) 

Levi cocked an eyebrow at him. Eren pointed to the tip cup next to the register, then held up his hand to stretch his fingers out, mouthing, _“Five bucks.”_

Then, he gave Levi a thumbs up. A goddamn thumbs up, who even does that anymore? 

Discord binged. Levi scrambled to turn his volume off, not wanting anyone to look at him. He didn’t like the attention of strangers. But Eren could look at him. That was more than okay. Maybe. He didn’t want to seem flustered, but biting the inside of his cheek to keep from outwardly reacting was getting painful. 

[received 02:45pm - DanceYmirDance] are you being gay again 

[sent 02:45pm] go away 

DanceYmirDance was an artist on tumblr. She mostly worked with (her rumored girlfriend) Historia, who, Levi would admit, wrote some of the best smut. He hadn’t talked to either of them much, besides commenting in tags on reblogs. But Call and Historia talked a lot, and then Historia made the group chat and Call dragged him into it. 

[recieved 02:46pm - DanceYmirDance] it’s barista boy, ain’t it  
[recieved 02:46pm - DanceYmirDance] your bf isn’t online  


[sent 02:46pm] **sh u t u p**

Eren wasn’t at the counter when Levi glanced over again. If he missed his fucking chance to actually talk to him, he was going to be pissed. 

He was too busy staring at the person who had taken Eren’s spot behind the register, he didn’t notice Eren walking up to the table until he plopped into the seat across from him. 

“C-can I sit here?” he asked. 

Oh god. Levi wasn’t mentally prepared for this. It wasn’t like he could say no, Eren was already sitting down. 

Levi couldn’t think of a proper response, so his voice came out flat when he said, “Sure.” 

“I have a ten-n minute break.” 

“Nice.” 

They stared at each other for a moment before Eren licked his bottom lip, tugging it between his teeth as he looked down at his phone. 

(Okay _that_ was so much sexier than a grin.) 

[sent 2:49pm] FUCK COME BACK HELP ME 

[received 2:46pm - ColdBitchFace] stop screaming 

ColdBitchFace was another mutual friend of Historia and Call. She did give off the _fuck you_ vibe, but Levi had grown to respect her after a while. 

[sent - 2:47pm] ANNIE HELP 

[received 2:47pm - ColdBitchFace] why 

[sent 2:47pm] BARISTA BOY SAT AT MY TABLE 

There was an obnoxious red dot notification on the tumblr app on his phone, and if it was being a fucking jackass like tumblr mobile tended to be, he was going to lose his cool. 

Not really, but he’d scream some more on discord. 

[received 2:55pm - LastCall4Jaeger] wow bitch you crashed my phone 

Levi glanced up at Eren, not wanting to seem rude by being on his phone but Eren was staring intently at his own. 

[sent 2:55pm] help help help  
[sent 2:56pm] sjenajndjdjsjd  
[sent 2:56pm] apparently it’s his break and he decided to sit with me idk what to do  
[sent 2:56pm] he’s so fucking attractive I can’t  


It was true. The sun was beautifully reflecting through the window, highlighting Eren’s tanned (and gorgeously toned) arms. His eyes were sparkling like all those cheesy fanfics described. 

Eren coughed loudly around a lemon scone and Levi eyed him. 

“Don’t choke, I don’t know CPR.” 

Though it was probably worth learning if he could use it as an excuse to touch Eren’s mouth with his mouth, if he stopped breathing. Not that he wanted Eren to stop breathing but— 

“I-It’s okay. Just, Jean,” Eren said, wiggling the phone in his hand. 

“Ah. The kid from yesterday. Your boyfriend?” 

_Well, Levi. You wouldn’t know subtlety even if someone wrote it out on a Wiki-How. Step One: Don’t be awkward as fuck and learn to have some tact._

“Oh, no-no. He’s my friend.” Eren was bLushing. “We used to date but we realized i-it wasn’t really dating. Just a, uhm, comfort thing? But- yeah, we’re just friends. We’re n-not dating.” 

“Cool.” 

As lame as his answer was, there were some victory balloons and confetti exploding in Levi’s chest at the fact that Eren didn’t curl up like any other heterosexual dudebro at the notion of having a boyfriend. Well, yeah, he admitted to having dated a guy. But that didn’t mean anything because it could have just been some horny high school exploration. 

[sent 3:15pm] idk how to talk to him 

[received 3:16pm - LastCall4Jaeger] just be yourself 

[sent 3:16pm] um? a weeb  
[sent 3:16pm] no no. i can’t  
[sent 3:16pm] he might have standards  


Eren smiled again. God, he was full of so many smiles, and Levi wanted to learn them all. This one was dorky and stunning, making Levi’s heart constrict in his chest. 

[sent 3:20pm] He keeps looking up and it’s gay but it’s the whole _through his eyelashes_ thing and _hair falling in his face_  
[sent 3:20pm] i’m dying over here 

[received 3:27pm - LastCall4Jaeger] idk? compliment him or something 

[sent 3:30pm] ugh, fine 

“I like your shirt.” 

_Amazing. Ten points to Slytherin for effort_

Eren looked down at his apron. “Uh, thanks.” But Eren glanced back up at him, mouth curling into a smile that Levi wanted to taste. 

[sent 3:34pm] that... didn’t go as planned. I said nice shirt.  
[sent 3:35pm] he’s wearing his FUCKING UNIFORM.  


“I like the stickers on your laptop.” 

Levi glared down at his laptop. Batman. Harry Potter. Bloodborne. Finding Fucking Nemo. 

“Thanks.” Levi set his jaw, swallowing the panic bubbling inside of him. “My friend did it.” 

“They’re cool,” Eren said. “I like Batman. N-never read Harry Potter though.” 

“That’s a sin.” 

“I— uh, just don't read many… books.” 

To be honest, Levi didn’t really read many books either. Sometimes he was lazy enough to google the summaries of the novels he was supposed to read for his classes. There were too many fanfics in his Marked For Later. Priorities, right? 

“I- I should go back. It’s busy.” 

Levi caught his gaze, which he realized was too intense when Eren shifted back in his seat, eyes widening. 

“Thanks for the coffee,” he said eventually. 

Eren shifted again, but this time his posture changed, relaxing and opening up all at once. The small thanks made him grin, ridiculously wide and endearing, like he was a dog that had just been praised for being a good boy. 

Puppy play— _No._

“Anytime.” 

“Hey.” Levi didn’t know what he wanted to say after that, just liked the way Eren spun on his heels to face him again. 

The first thing that came to mind spilled before he could stop himself. “We should hang out.” 

“Yeah,” Eren breathed, cheeks coloring as relief flooded across his face. “Yeah! I-I get off work soon, but I have to stop- by the Art Building to go to office hours, so… after?” 

“Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Babe](https://lankylevi.tumblr.com), I owe you my soul. Thank you for helping me through this mess.


End file.
